Category: Main Article

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

by City of Angels International Christian Church • April 10, 2012 • Comments Off

Guest Editorial: Mike Underhill (Mike & Brittany Underhill, who humbly serve as the Evangelist and Women’s Ministry Leader of the dynamic Chicago Church, are the San Francisco Mission Team Leaders. They are very dear friends to Elena & me. Though they are a young couple who was married less than a year ago, they are held in high esteem for their work’s sake by the entire SoldOut Movement. KM) “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 God has set His eyes on one of the most beautiful cities in the world – San Francisco. This “Paris of the West” has always been about the heart with songs written about it such as: I Left My Heart In San Francisco sung by Tony Bennett; Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding; Welcome To Paradise by Green Day; Save Me, San Francisco by Train, and of course, one of the hippie movement’s anthem songs – If You’re Going To San Francisco, which inspired thousands to move to San Francisco in the late ’60′s. Hauntingly, another lesser known song that is inspiring to the whole San Francisco Mission Team is by American Music Band, All The Lost Souls Welcome You To San Francisco! With that song in mind, there are almost eight million lost souls in this amazing world city who prayerfully will “welcome [the mission team] to San Francisco!” The local band Train sings, Hey, Soul Sister, and I am so honored to be called by God to “the City by the Bay” with my new bride and “soul sister,” Brittany, along with about 30 sold-out disciples – primarily from

The Promise

by Helen Sullivan • March 20, 2012 • Comments Off

Report: 2012 Women’s Day Guest Editorial – Helen Sullivan “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:20 What an incredible Women’s Day! When asked what was personally the most impacting, the women responded… “The gathering and sharing of women speakers always causes a great time of reflection. The event also allows me another opportunity to be closer to my daughter who invited me.” “The courage of the women and their vulnerability touched my heart. Also the interpretive dance moved me deeply. Thank you.” “Sonja was brilliantly used by God. Truly, an amazing day!” With 270 sisters in the City of Angels Church, we had a total of 726 women who came out to Women’s Day – 557 attended the English Women’s Day and 169 participated in the Latin (Spanish-speaking) Women’s Day! Although the events took place on March 3rd and March 10th, respectively, the preparation started much earlier! In December, the sisters – powerfully led by Elena – began to discuss the possible themes and most importantly, committed to pray daily for this special conference specifically designed to move women’s hearts. We agreed to keep everything simple! Once January hit, we began calling everyone we knew – family, friends and acquaintances – to invite them to attend. During Staff Meetings every Tuesday morning, the women gathered separately from the men in order to spend time planning and praying, as well as listening to inspiring lessons about loving women, reaching out to them, and winning them to Christ. On the morning of March 3rd, walking into the

Prayer Grows The Church

by Kip McKean • March 8, 2012 • Comments Off

“When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.’” Matthew 9:36-38 Since the City of Angels Church was planted by 42 disciples from Portland, Oregon on May 6, 2007, the Lord has blessed our prayers with an incredible harvest of souls! Our congregation is now having close to 800 on Sundays, a contribution of $25,000 per week, and God is adding “to our number daily” through baptisms, restorations and place memberships. (Acts 2:47) Of special note, almost 125 disciples have been sent-out by the Spirit to plant churches in Honolulu (2008), New York (2008), Portland (2009), San Diego (2010), London (2010), and Sao Paulo (2011), as well as to strengthen churches in Chicago, Hilo, Kiev, Phoenix, Santiago, Syracuse, and Washington DC. Collectively, in less than five years, “the 42” have multiplied into over 1,500 disciples with a combined attendance nearing 2,500! A few days ago as I was reading the book of Acts, I was reminded that prayer was of the highest priority to the disciples. Prayer moves God. In turn, our sovereign God moves and impacts men by His Spirit, His angels, His Word and His providence. This is how the early church grew so dynamically! Let the following prayers by our first century brothers inspire us by their ensuing impact, as well as serving as a pattern and upward call as we strive to build God’s church here in Los Angeles and around the world in

Our Brother – John Mark

by Kip McKean • February 18, 2012 • Comments Off

“When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem [to Antioch], taking with them John, also called Mark.” Acts 12:25 One of the most inspirational lives recorded in the Scriptures is John Mark. This is the same brother who writes the first widely accepted “Gospel of Jesus,” which is known to this day as the Book of Mark. His Hebrew name, John, would be translated, “Yohanan” which means grace. His Latin name was Marcus which probably indicates that he was a Roman citizen. Most likely, in his younger years, he was known primarily as “John Mark” to distinguish him from others who had the common Jewish name of John. Throughout his life, he was privileged to walk besides not only Jesus, but the most gallant preachers of the early church: Barnabas – the son of encouragement, Peter – the apostle to the Jews, and Paul – the apostle to the Gentiles. The Coptic (Egyptian Orthodox) Church tradition, backed by Alfred Edershim’s extensively researched book The Life And Times Of Jesus The Messiah, holds that Jesus and His Twelve had their last Passover meal together in the “upper room” in the home of Mary and her husband, the parents of a teenage John Mark. (Mark 14:12-16) Most believe that John Mark was perhaps 14 or 15 years old. Some even connect the Passover’s “upper room” of Mark and Luke 22, to be one and the same “upper room” as Luke mentions in Acts 1-2, where the 120 gathered led by the Twelve after Jesus’ ascension. Here, they collectively receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, not one scholar doubts that we are “officially” first introduced to John

Seek First His Kingdom!

by Kip McKean • February 4, 2012 • Comments Off

Prayer Goals for 2010 By Kip McKean “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 Our 2012 theme for the City of Angels International Christian Church and our Winter Workshop is Seek First His Kingdom. However, before we look ahead, let’s remember how the Spirit has moved in 2011. Perhaps most amazing is witnessing the unfolding of Jesus’ plan of the multiplication of disciples! The City of Angels Church started 2011 with 303 disciples. In the past 365 days, “the Lord added to our number [more than] daily” as He blessed us with 366 additions: 260 baptisms, 49 restorations, and 57 place memberships – many of whom came from our former fellowship seeking revival! Also awe-inspiring was the sending out of the third Crown of Thorns Mission Team – Sao Paulo in late August. Already, the Spirit has more than tripled this congregation from seven to twenty-two sold-out disciples! In fact, over the past four and-a-half years since the City of Angels Church was planted, the Spirit has sent out 118 disciples on six mission teams – Honolulu, New York City, Portland, San Diego, London and Sao Paulo – as well as leaders to strengthen our sister churches in Santiago, Washington DC, Chicago, Kiev and Hilo. Therefore, since God planted the City of Angels Church in May 2007, the original 42 disciples from Portland have multiplied to over 1,500 disciples with 2,500 in attendance on Sundays! Multiplication by God’s Spirit has also occurred in the leadership of the SoldOut Movement. So incredible at our 2011 Global Leadership Conference were the reinstatements and appointments of 16 Evangelists and Women’s

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